The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for protecting a hose or other utility conduit from damage caused by traffic crossing over such conduits. Substantially rectangular ramp units with covered conduit channels are interlocked to form an elongate ramp with a channel for receiving a conduit. The ramp units can be interlocked in a linear chain or in a branched pattern.
Flexible hoses and other utility conduits have many uses in industry, particularly in oil refineries and chemical manufacturing installations. Such conduits, for instance, may be pressurized with air, nitrogen, water, other fluids, steam, or hazardous materials, may conduct electricity, water, or may include cable for conducting signals from remote sensor locations. Frequently in the course of construction and maintenance of such installations, such conduits must be run across roads or other areas exposed to vehicular traffic. A protection device for the conduits is therefore needed to prevent traffic from damaging such conduits and to avoid safety hazards.
The common industry practice for protecting conduits on roads or other traffic areas is to lay sheets of plywood over boards or build a ramp out of such materials. Such designs provide marginal protection for the conduit, are not particularly durable, and are unstable when, for instance, they must be crossed by a truck with a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 or more pounds. Construction from plywood and boards is also time consuming and costly.
Various other conduit coverings are known in the art, but are directed to concealing and covering conduits in buildings primarily on walls and floors. Such coverings, in the case of electrical wireways and pipes, often are merely for decorative purposes. Others have the purpose of protecting conduits from spilled fluids and dust particles and from being kicked or shoved loose inadvertently. While these coverings provide some protection to conduits, none of them are weight bearing to such a degree as to make them suitable for the weight of vehicular traffic such as that described above. Further, these coverings are not designed for easy assembly and removal.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which overcomes these disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by providing safe, durable, and stable protection for such conduits.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus, in the form of a safety ramp, which is "modular" in the sense that it can easily be extended, by interlocking each safety ramp in end-to-end fashion, to form a long chain of safety ramps for protecting the entire length of the conduit.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a safety ramp that protects conduits from vehicular traffic which is easily assembled and dismantled.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a safety ramp comprised of materials that are relatively impervious to exposure to ambient weather conditions and which are resilient enough to withstand impact and the insult of heavy loads.
Other objects, and the advantages, of the present invention will be made clear to those skilled in the art by the following description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof.